Stakeholder contacts EU-China investment negotiations, since 27 May 2014

The request was partially successful.

Dear Trade (TRADE),

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, and the code of good administrative behaviour, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

1) a list of meetings of DG Trade officials and/ or representatives (including the Commissioner and the Cabinet) with stakeholders, including individual companies, law firms, arbitrators and industry associations, in which the EU-China investment negotiations were discussed (between 27 May 2014 and today);

2) minutes and other reports of these meetings;

3) all correspondence (including emails) between DG Trade officials and/or representatives (including the Commissioner and the Cabinet) and stakeholders, including representatives of companies, business associations, law firms and individual arbitrators, in which the EU-China investment negotiations were discussed (between 27 May 2014 and today).

Yours faithfully,

Pia Eberhardt

Dear Pia,

I hereby acknowledge the receipt of your email of 12/12/2014 registered on 15/12/2014 under the reference number GESTDEM 2014/6024.

In accordance with Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, you will receive a response to your request within 15 working days: 15/01/2015. If this deadline needs to be extended, you will be informed in due course.

You have lodged your application via the AsktheEU.org website. Please note that this is a private website which has no link with any institution of the European Union. Therefore the European Commission cannot be held accountable for any technical issues or problems linked to the use of this system.

Best regards,
DG Trade

-----Original Message-----
From: Pia Eberhardt [mailto:[FOI #1644 email]]
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2014 5:11 PM
To: TRADE ACCES DOCUMENTS
Subject: access to information request - Stakeholder contacts EU-China investment negotiations, since 27 May 2014

Dear Trade (TRADE),

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, and the code of good administrative behaviour, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

1) a list of meetings of DG Trade officials and/ or representatives (including the Commissioner and the Cabinet) with stakeholders, including individual companies, law firms, arbitrators and industry associations, in which the EU-China investment negotiations were discussed (between 27 May 2014 and today);

2) minutes and other reports of these meetings;

3) all correspondence (including emails) between DG Trade officials and/or representatives (including the Commissioner and the Cabinet) and stakeholders, including representatives of companies, business associations, law firms and individual arbitrators, in which the EU-China investment negotiations were discussed (between 27 May 2014 and today).

Yours faithfully,

Pia Eberhardt

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This is a request for access to information under Article 15 of the TFEU and, where applicable, Regulation 1049/2001 which has been sent via the AsktheEU.org website.

Please kindly use this email address for all replies to this request: [FOI #1644 email]

If [DG TRADE request email] is the wrong address for information requests to Trade (TRADE), please tell the AsktheEU.org team on email [email address]

This message and all replies from Trade (TRADE) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

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Dear Indre,

would you be so nice to update me on the status of this request? Your deadline expired last week.

Thank you and kind regards,

Pia Eberhardt

Dear Indre,

would you be so kind to update me on the status of the request, including a new deadline I can work with?

Thank you!

Yours faithfully,

Pia Eberhardt

Dear Indre,

as I haven't heard from you since beginning of February, I was wondering if you could update me on the status of this request.

Yours faithfully,

Pia Eberhardt

Dear Madams & Sirs,

as I haven't heard back to my last message from 8 March, I am herewith trying again, asking you to update me on the status of this request and providing me with a realistic deadline for when I can expect a response.

Thank you for your understanding.

Yours faithfully,

Pia Eberhardt

Dear Madams and Sirs,

by online form dated 12 December 2014, Corporate Europe Observatory requested access, on the basis of Regulation 1049/2001 and the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour, to a list of stakeholder
meetings, which DG Trade officials held to discuss EU-China investment negotiations, between 27 May and 12 December 2014. We also requested related minutes and correspondence.

By online form of 16 December 2014, DG Trade informed CEO that the application was correctly registered and would be dealt with within 15 working days.

After that date, CEO sent four messages, asking for an update on the state of the request (the latest on 24 March 2015), but none have been responded by the Commission.

To date, notwithstanding the expiration of all the time limits set by Regulation 1049/2001 and several follow-up emails from CEO, the Commission has neither released the requested documents nor has it written to CEO denying total or partial access thereto.

In these circumstances, CEO requests to the Commission to reply to its application of 12 December 2014 by Tuesday, 19 May 2015 (so, two weeks from now).

Otherwise CEO may activate the procedure laid down in Article 7(4)of Regulation 1049/2001.

Yours faithfully,

Pia Eberhardt

Dear Ms Eberhardt,
We are also processing your request 2014-6024 on Eu-China investments.
We hope to get back to you in due time with the reply.
Thank you for your patience.

DG TRADE

Dear Madams & Sirs,

this is to inform you that I have just sent the below confirmatory application on the request.

Yours faithfully,

Pia Eberhardt

Alexander Italianer
Secretary-General
European Commission
Rue de la Loi 200
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium

By email: [email address]

Brussels, July 16th 2014

Confirmatory application in relation to access to information request (GESTDEM 2014/6024)

Dear Sir,

On 12 December 2014, Corporate Europe Observatory (hereafter CEO) requested access by way of application, on the basis of Regulation 1049/2001, to a number of documents relating to the EU-China investment negotiations, via the online portal asktheeu.org.

On 12 December 2014, DG Trade of the European Commission acknowledged receipt of CEO’s application and confirmed that it would be dealt with as quickly as possible.

On 20 January 2015, CEO wrote to the Commission to enquire about the status of the request, as the time limit of fifteen working days set by Article 7(1) of Regulation 1049/2001 had by then expired.

On 9 February 2015, after having received no response to the message from 20 January, CEO sent another message to enquire about the status of the request.

Similar messages followed on 8 and on 24 March 2015 – each time without a response from the Commission.

On 5 May 2015, CEO sent another message to the Commission, pointing out that notwithstanding the expiration of all the time limits set by Regulation 1049/2001, the European Commission had neither granted access to the requested documents nor had it written to CEO denying total or partial access thereto.

CEO then gave the Commission to 19 May 2015 to reply to its initial application.

On 6 May 2015, DG Trade responded to that message on writing that they were processing the request and hoping to get back in due time with the reply.

The whole communication from asktheeu.org is attached as a print out.

To date, CEO has received no communication or any documents from the Commission.

The initial application therefore must be deemed to have been refused.

According to Article 7(4) of Regulation 1049/2001, CEO is thus entitled to make a confirmatory application.

Therefore, CEO respectfully requests you:
1. to declare the refusal decision invalid on the grounds that the documents requested have been withheld without reason and beyond all statutory deadlines, thereby infringing Regulation 1049/2001 and EC law in general, and
2. to forward the documents requested.

Yours sincerely

Pia Eberhardt

3 Attachments

Please find attached a reply to your request concerning the access to
information number 2014-6024.
Best regards,
 
DG TRADE, Unit B.2 Investment
European Commission
CHAR 05/216
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium